SIMON'S SONG!

 SATURDAY, AUGUST 11TH., 2018
             SIMON'S SONG!

    I was listening to the 60's channel on
my Sirius XM satellite radio when the
song "Simple Simon Says" by the 1910
Fruitgum  Company began to play.
     It brought back some memories. I
played the record as a DJ and I played
the game as a kid.
     It got me to wondering how many,
if any, of our backyard games have
survived into these "Candy Crush days?"
     Simon Says was a great one for small
groups of kids. The leader told you to
do something, like putting your hands
on your head. If he or she began the
instruction with "Simon says" you
followed along. Follow the instruction
without the "Simon says" prefix and
you were out! Simple as that.
       There was "Red light, green light."
Again a leader stood in front and the
other kids moved forward until he or
she called out "Red Light." Stop in
your tracks and you were fine. Keep
moving and you were out! Another
variation was called "Red Rover"
in which the leader called out a
specific person to come forward
while trying to trick the other
players into moving.
      There were other classics like
"Kick the can" and, of course,"Hide
and Seek." My 3-year-old grandson
likes the hiding part but hasn't yet
learned that his laughter tends to
help the seeker quite a bit. At least
I know that game has survived the
years!
       Amazing how much we
enjoyed these contests that required
nothing but our time and, in one
case, an empty Campbell's Chicken
Noddle Soup can (or the can of your
choice.)!
       Hope you've got some good
neighborhood game memories and
that all your NEWS is good.